Abstract
Numerous studies over the last decades have focused on marine protected areas (MPAs) and their effects on fish communities. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding how species that live associated with soft-substrates (e.g., sand, mud) respond to spatial protection. We analyzed abundance, biomass and total lengths of the soft-bottom fishes in a multiple-use MPA in the north-eastern Atlantic, the Luiz Saldanha Marine Park (Portugal), during and after the implementation of its management plan. Data were collected by experimental fishing in areas with three different levels of protection, during the implementation period and for three years after full implementation of the MPA. Univariate analysis detected significant biomass increases between the two periods. Fish assemblages were mainly structured by depth and substrate, followed by protection level. Community composition analyses revealed significant differences between protection levels and between the two periods. Species exhibited a broad variation in their response to protection, and we hypothesize that factors such as species habitat preferences, body size and late maturity might be underlying determinants. Overall, this study provides some evidence of protection effectiveness in soft-bottom fish communities, supported by the significant increase in biomass in the protected areas and the positive trends of some species.
Highlights
The marine environment is nowadays increasingly impacted by human activities, with overfishing reported worldwide (Myers & Worm, 2003; Pauly & Palomares, 2005)
Fish abundance and biomass differed according to protection level, with higher values in the partially protected areas (PPAs) and fully protected areas (FPAs) in comparison with the buffer areas (BA)
It is worth noting that not all spatial complexity was incorporated by depth, substrate and protection level, as these variables do not explain the uneven distribution of some species
Summary
The marine environment is nowadays increasingly impacted by human activities, with overfishing reported worldwide (Myers & Worm, 2003; Pauly & Palomares, 2005). Conservation of marine fishes currently holds unique challenges for fisheries managers (Vincent & Hall, 1996; Roberts, 1997). Marine protected areas (MPAs) are one of the key tools to implement ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning (Gaines et al, 2010; Halpern, Lester & McLeod, 2010). How to cite this article Sousa et al (2018), Soft-bottom fishes and spatial protection: findings from a temperate marine protected area. The transport of larvae (‘recruitment subsidy’) and movement of juveniles and adults (‘spillover’) to the outside areas are expected to increase fisheries yields (Gell & Roberts, 2003; Grüss et al, 2011)
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